Dietand Recipes

What you eat is the biggest factor in preventing intense periods of facial redness. Food triggers are both a pain and the key to avoiding the worst rosacea can deliver. Here are the common food triggers with rosacea and some tips on foods to eat that help heal the skin and lessen the redness.

Food and Beverage Triggers for Rosacea

Diet is everything with rosacea and many foods can be red face triggers. To find your triggers, you have to keep a journal of every food or beverage you consume for at least two weeks. In that same journal, record how your skin looks each morning. Pay special attention to redness flare ups. As you start to see a pattern, you might notice that certain foods and beverages were eating right before the flare ups.

Common rosacea triggers are:

• Anything alcoholic • Beans • Caffeine (including caffeine found in chocolate, coffee, sodas, and tea) • Citrus fruits • Dairy products • Foods rich in histamines (eggplant, spinach, soy, and vinegar) • Hot beverages • Nuts • Shellfish • Smoked meats • Soy • Spicy foods (chili, curry, etc.) • Vanilla • Yeast

If alcohol is something you do not wish to avoid completely, changing what you drink might help. I am extremely sensitive to red wine, but I can handle a beer every now and then.

While it is rarely a trigger for other women with rosacea, I find sugar triggers a flare up. You'll likely find food items that are responsible for many of your flare ups, which is why the journal is essential.

Foods That May Benefit Your Red Face

If you want to battle red skin with foods, here are some tips. Make sure that the suggested foods and beverages are not triggers for you. Every person is different, so you'll need to have found your triggers before trying these.

When it comes to having a drink, it can be tough. Hot beverages like coffee and tea are known to increase facial redness. Many juices contain citrus or tomatoes, which can also trigger flushing. Try smoothies with apples, carrots, and pears are good choices. Other drinks to consider are seltzer, water, cashew nut milk, coconut milk, coconut water, or herbal teas served either at room temperature or on ice.

There are two diets that people with rosacea tend to say work well at preventing redness. The first is the Alkaline Diet. This diet involves drinking plenty of fresh water each day. The recommendation is to drink at least three-quarters of a gallon each day. For your snacks and meals, you want foods that do not increase alkalinity in the body. The diet urges you to eat lots of fresh, organic vegetables and fruits, and limited meats. It also forbids processed foods and junk food.

The other is the Paleo Diet. Again, this diet encourages fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, and eggs, lean meats, and fish. It urges against starchy foods like potatoes, broad beans, wheat, dairy, sugar, and salt. As beans, dairy, and even sugar can be triggers for rosacea, it's not surprising that it does work for some.

These diets are not cure-alls. The best thing to do with your diet is to find your rosacea triggers and then create a diet that works for you. My skin looks its best when I eat foods like kale, fish, chicken breast, quinoa, and barley. I look my worst when I consume sugar, white breads like sourdough, red wine, and milk chocolate. Try the rosacea food trigger journal for a couple weeks or, even better, a month. What foods did you come up with as problematic for your red face?